Dwight Howard will likely never interrupt one of his coach’s press conferences again before he understands the situation. Earlier this year, he learned that lesson the hard way. In what was one of the most hilariously awkward moments of the 2011-2012 NBA season, Howard barged in on a Stan Van Gundy interview and acted all buddy-buddy with him, all the while having no idea that Van Gundy just told reporters Howard had asked the Magic front office to fire him. Superman now admits he learned a valuable lesson after the embarrassing ordeal.
“It was very awkward,” Howard said in a recent interview with ESPN the Magazine. “But you live and you learn. I don’t think I would ever do that again. I don’t know where what Stan heard came from. We talked about it a couple of times. Then we talked about how we both felt, and it was one of the best talks we ever had. We’ve forgiven each other. We’re ready to move on.”
It’s interesting — but not surprising — that Howard says the two have “forgiven each other.” Howard reportedly snuck behind Van Gundy’s back and tried to get him fired. To our knowledge, the only thing Van Gundy ever did is coach with a style that Dwight doesn’t approve of, so I don’t think he owed him any type of apology.
Whether things have truly been smoothed over or not, these two will not be together when the 2012-2013 season tips off. Howard will in all likelihood request a trade this offseason, and Van Gundy could very well be fired. Judging by the way things went this season, I doubt either one will miss the other.
H/T I Am a GM
Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
